In our series of blogs ‘Meet our Team’, we talk to Rachel Mannering, our Management Accountant about her role with AiQ. …Continue reading…
Meet Our AiQ Team – Management Accountant – Rachel Mannering
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Meet Our AiQ Team – Managing Director – Derek Allen
Derek is our Managing Director, overseeing the business on a non-operational level. In the next part of our Meet The Team series we talk about what he brings to AiQ and the next steps for the company. …Continue reading…
Walking you around the Walkabout
One of the highlights of our days is the walkabout – taking time to travel around the airports we work in to collect data, view airside layout changes and take time to talk to stakeholders.
We do official ‘walkabout’s (surveys) of Heathrow once every quarter – This is where we assess the whole of the airport to see what has changed and collect relevant data. It may be that car parking allocations have altered, a temporary building has been erected or a construction project has taken some land – this may cause problems if we have targeted this space as possible land to solve a capacity problem!
Providing Services to Consultants
Are you looking for airport consultants or airport capacity planners who can cost effectively deliver and work efficiently with your team?
We are happy to provide our services to other Consultancies where they lack the resource, specific knowledge or the tools to get the job done quickly and efficiently. This includes multi discipline engineer consultants and project managers working in the aviation industry, amongst others.
We have many years experience in working with airport consultant’s engineers and project managers, solving airport capacity problems quickly and innovatively.
What are the benefits in working with AiQ?
- We work as an extension of your existing team – making you more competitive.
- We are airport consultants and can communicate with all stakeholders effectively at every level, taking the pressure off your team.
- We can clearly present solutions using our bespoke simulation tool, Transvision AiR, to clearly demonstrate and prove your proposed change or solution to stakeholders.
- Using Transvision Air, we can predict and schedule the impact of your planned change.
- We have the practical attitude, intelligent solutions and excellent consulting skills to give you the confidence and peace of mind that we can deliver any stakeholder capacity challenge.
- Using our airport expertise, we:
- optimise facilities and equipment,
- reduce congestion and waiting times,
- improve passenger experience.
Find out more about our Services, or contact us today for further information.
Heathrow Terminal 2 Opens – Successful completion of the AiQ MUP Planning Contract
Following a lot of hard work by all involved, Heathrow’s new Terminal 2 opens this week.
Described as an extraordinary new space in its own right, it has been “designed from the outset with the needs of the individual passenger at its heart and with sustainability as a guiding principle.” (www.heathrowairport.com)
Moving partner airlines closer together to improve flight connections and passenger experience was central to the vision behind this amazing new terminal, and AiQ were part of the team to make that happen.
We were awarded the contract for Terminal 2 MUP Planning in February, as part of our work for MACE. This involved creating live allocation plans for the make up for Terminal 2 in preparation for the opening. Revised schedules, airlines moving from T3 to T2, and ground handler contract changes, all added to the challenging conditions. Requirement to use the older T1 baggage systems to service the new T2 baggage systems, constraining makeup resources, was also a key concern.
Our expert knowledge of airport operations, capacity planning and stakeholder management ensured that the project was completed and extremely successful.
We coordinated with the ground handlers and all operational elements, including the Aviation Business Continuity Consultancy who ran and managed the actual trails. We also worked with the Baggage Handling Systems department of Babcock International, Menzies Aviation and United Airlines handling.
As well as designing and co-ordinating the project in the run up to the opening of the new Terminal, we were also present on the day of the trails, which were very successful.
We were honoured to be part of such a ground-breaking vision of airport capacity and efficiency, and look forward to more projects with Heathrow in the months and years to come.
To find out more about our work with Heathrow, read our case studies or contact us today.
AiQ – How do we work?
AiQ delivers expert consultancy services, tailored to individual client’s goals and capacity requirements. We diagnose, develop solutions, implement and oversee live operation as part of our service.
Using our process model, we follow each of the elements in all our operations to ensure we solve airport capacity problems quickly and innovatively, giving peace of mind to our clients.
Diagnose
We create clear and concise brief response based on our experience and expert knowledge. Understanding the high level goals and detailed requirements driven by technical efficiency, safety, security and environmental sustainability, we identify the cause and nature of any capacity problem in Airports swiftly and efficiently.
Will growth wait for the airport debate?
A few weeks ago Colin Matthews, the Chief Executive of Heathrow, wrote in the Telegraph about how the airport, and the UK’s export trade, is missing out on connections to growth regions while the debate about airport expansion rumbles on.
“To meet its potential, Britain needs to be connected with the regions where growth is surging ahead – and that means emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and North America…. Instead, Heathrow has been full for a decade and those routes are being handed to our hub rivals in Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. Previous analysis shows our economy is missing out on £14bn a year in lost trade as a result, a figure that’s set to rise to £26bn by 2030.”
He argues that debate is centred around a ‘false choice’ – Heathrow or Gatwick, where in fact both airports have different roles within the UK’s aviation industry. The UK needs extra hub capacity, provided by Heathrow, in order to compete in future international markets.
Another exclusive service for Airports – Apron Vehicle Simulations
AiQ strives to produce tools and simulations that give maximum benefits to clients. Providing integrated, simple and effective analysis and simulations allows us to advise and present our clients with the information they need to run operational and cost effective airports.
In addition to all of the integrated operational Capacity Planning tools (Chk-in, MUP, Arrival, Stand Planning) offered by AiQ, we have now developed our own discrete Apron Vehicle simulation.
As part of TranvisionAiR, it gives the following benefits to clients:
Providing Decision Support for Long Term Planning
AiQ Consulting provides intelligent airport consultancy, for capacity planning and operational efficiency, for many airports worldwide. This support is not just based on short-term solutions, whether it is pop up terminals or new ways around capacity problems. Our work can assist airports in long term planning, deciding on the suitability of further investments and creating buy in with key stakeholders.
With the use of our bespoke 2D simulation software, Transvision AiR, we not only help our clients with everyday operations but can also provide decision support for long term planning. …Continue reading…
Our Services – Airport, Airfield, Terminal and Apron
AiQ Consulting Services
AiQ covers all areas of the Airport Consultancy with our holistic approach to capacity planning and operational efficiencies.
We improve passenger experience, protect your operation and reduce risk. By realising ‘unseen’ capacity, optimising the use of what is already available, as well proving future designs or masterplans that are efficient from the outset, we help airports around the world achieve more with what they already have.
In the airfield, we maximise your airport’s competitive advantage with intelligent airfield planning, keeping pace with existing and future aircraft demands by optimising your airfield capacity. We look at major aircraft traffic surfaces, such as runways, taxiways and stands; current and future flight schedules; and capacity issues and risk that airport, operators and airlines face on any given day.
We also develop operational concepts for terminals, proving layouts and evaluating existing facilities for efficient use of resources (airport baggage check, baggage handling systems, passenger screening and more,). We enhance the function of terminal buildings, ensuring long-term utilisation and preventing unnecessary investment costs.
AiQ Announces Further New Contracts
Following our announcement that we are to be retained by Heathrow as Airside Operations Seasonal Planners, we have been awarded several new contracts in recent weeks.
These include:
Heathrow Terminal 2 MUP Planning
This project is further work based on the capacity analysis that we completed for Heathrow a few years ago. Working for MACE, this will involve live allocation plans for the make up for Terminal 2 in preparation for the opening in June.
As airlines move from T3 to T2, with revised schedules and many ground handler contract changes, these plans are based on new, changing and challenging requirements. Terminal 2 MUP Planning requires the use of older T1 baggage systems to service the new T2 baggage systems, which will constrain makeup resources.
This contract will take full advantage of AiQ’s stakeholder management expertise to keep the airline and ground handler community well informed and happy with the changes taking place.
Despite these challenging conditions, our expert knowledge of airport operations, capacity planning and stakeholder management will ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum for passengers, airlines, ground handling crew and others involved.
Heathrow Terminal 2 Makeup Trails …Continue reading…
AiQ announces new Airside Capacity Modeling Contract at Heathrow
AiQ are pleased to announce that we are now Heathrow’s Airside Operations Seasonal Planners. This operational contract, awarded by HAL in February, is to simulate Apron and Passenger Traffic activity for the whole of Heathrow, the most complex hub airport in the world.
Working with Gebler Tooth Architects (GTA) and using our bespoke 2D simulation model, Transvision AiR, we will maintain an airport capacity model with a reportable database and 2D visual vehicle simulation of the LHR Terminal Airside road and retail operations, parking and stand network. It includes a baseline database and simulation model for vehicle operations such as: …Continue reading…